


Tragedy at Home

by all_the_ships_are_sailing



Category: Big Brother RPF
Genre: Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-23
Updated: 2015-05-24
Packaged: 2018-03-31 20:37:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3991936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/all_the_ships_are_sailing/pseuds/all_the_ships_are_sailing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>a ten year future fic</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

A lot had changed in Zach’s life over the past ten years and all of it for the better. By mid-2015 he’d almost grown accustomed to his new found fame and was learning how to date again with his fame in mind. By the end of the 2016, he’d found a steady job as a late-night radio DJ on one of his favorite local stations and by mid-2017 his show was beginning to air in other markets through the iHeartRadio partnership agreements. In late 2017, Zach started dating a young nurse named Jenna who worked at a local hospital.

In March of 2018, when they’d only been dating for about 6 months, Jenna told Zach she was pregnant and they both scrambled for what to do. They talked to Zach’s parents who still lived in Palm Beach Gardens with his younger brother (Peyton, now 14) and to Jenna’s parents who lived in Miami (empty nesters now that Jenna had moved to Palm Beach). Eventually Zach proposed and they were quickly married in June of 2018.

The wedding was small, only family and very close friends. Jenna had two bridesmaids (her two closest friends from nursing school – Katie and Megan) and Zach had two groomsmen (his brother and his best friend – Frankie). The wedding was a traditional Jewish one, held at the local temple as Zach’s mom had insisted. Frankie had tried to convince Zach to have a bachelor party the weekend before, but he’d adamantly refused.

Zach and Jenna had a fairly calm and happy first few months of marriage. They moved into an apartment together near Zach’s parents’ home in Palm Beach Gardens. Zach continued hosting his late night radio show and Jenna continued working at the hospital until she went on maternity leave in late November.

In early December 2018, Jenna gave birth to their first child, a beautiful little girl with dark brown curly hair who they named Emma. Jenna changed shifts at the hospital so she was working 9 am to 9 pm four days a week, so they didn’t need to find a babysitter or daycare center for Emma. Eventually Zach’s show was moved to the late morning time slot, so when she was three, they put Emma in day care for the first time, but only for a few hours each day. Jenna would drop her off on her way to work, and Zach would pick her up after his show.

Throughout the years, Zach and Frankie had remained close. Frankie was pretty much the equivalent of a godfather to Emma, spoiling her rotten every time he was in town, which granted wasn’t very often. His grandmother still lived in nearby Boca Raton, but he was constantly travelling with his own successes, New York, LA, and everywhere in between and beyond. He and Jenna got along well enough and he adored Emma beyond words, so when he decided to adopt a child of his own in late 2021, it seemed only right that Zach would take to her (a three year old named Rose from Frankie’s beloved Malawi) as Frankie had taken to Emma. Frankie eventually moved back to his childhood home in Boca with his daughter and grandmother, taking care of both of them and opening a new Dance School in the area where he taught classes five nights a week. Emma and Rose were best friends and did everything together as they grew up.

When Emma turned five and was going to enter Kindergarten in the fall, Jenna brought up the idea of having a second child to Zach and he agreed. So in October of 2024, Jenna gave birth to their second child, a son named Parker, and everything was perfect in their little family. Emma and Rose both adored Parker and Frankie spoiled him as much as he’d spoiled either of the girls, much to Zach’s insisting that he shouldn’t.

One day in early April 2025, the Rance family’s day had started much as it always did. Zach was up and at the office before any of the rest had woken up. Jenna got the kids up. She dressed Rose in her school uniform (Frankie had insisted on paying for private education for all the children) and Parker ready for daycare. They left the house by quarter of eight and got Emma to school just on time. Just like every morning, Jenna let Emma use her phone to call Zach at work before she went into school for the day.

“Hello?” Zach answered the phone on his desk knowing who would be on the other end.

“Hi, Daddy!”

“Good morning, Emma! Are you ready for school?”

“Yep!”

“Okay, then you have fun at school and tell Rose I say hello, okay?”

“Okay, Daddy. I love you!”

“I love you, too, Emma, so much.”

Emma handed the phone to her mother and climbed out of the back seat of the car, taking her backpack with her and waving as she walked up the sidewalk towards her school. Just as she reached the front doors, Rose came running to meet her and they both happily skipped down the hallway to their classroom. Jenna and Zach talked for a few minutes before Jenna ended the call and headed across town to Parker’s daycare before heading to work.

At just after 10 that morning, however, something abnormal happened. Zach’s cell phone rang with the number of Parker’s daycare. He excused himself from the studio to answer in the middle of a segment. “Hello?”

“Hi, Mr. Rance?”

“Speaking.”

“This is Lisa from the daycare center.”

“Yes, what is it? Is Parker sick?”

“No, sir. Parker was never dropped off this morning and your wife isn’t answering our calls, do you happen to know what happened?”

“No idea. Let me try her and see. I’ll get back to you.” Zach hung up with the daycare and immediately tried Jenna’s cell, but there was no answer. He had just talked to her a couple hours before, what had happened, he wondered. He tried to call her three more times before he gave up and told his cohost during a commercial break that he needed to leave and he’d explain later. He had the worst feeling in the pit of his stomach as he drove towards home.


	2. Chapter 2

Zach drove straight home, half expecting Jenna and Parker to be there, having forgotten something, but he car wasn’t in the driveway. He went inside and looked around, but all he found was the same note Jenna left for him and the kids every morning before she left. He eventually decided that perhaps he should just drive Jenna’s normal morning route to Emma’s school and then to Parker’s daycare.

Zach made his way past the school, remembering that he had spoken to both Jenna and Emma just that morning when they’d been parked just outside. He continued his drive and after a few turns he was halted by a crowd of emergency vehicles. His heart was in his throat as he parked along the neighborhood street. He got out of the car and started walking towards the police tape line when he saw it. Jenna’s car was smashed up to a barely recognizable heap of metal, but he knew it was Jenna’s because one of her bumper stickers was still visible on the back. Zach pushed his was through all the on lookers and under the tape, ignoring everyone who yelled at him until a police officer, physically halted his progress.

“Sir, you can’t be in this area.”

“That’s my wife’s car. My wife and my son were in that car.”

“Sir, please, what’s your name?” the officer insisted as Zach tried to push past.

“Zach Rance. My wife is Jenna and my son, Parker.”

“Sir, both of the occupants of that car were taken to trauma centers. Come over here with me and I can get you the details,” the officer said, directed Zach towards one of the police cars in the taped off area. Zach took a few deep breaths and followed the officer to his car. When the arrived, the officer opened the door and pulled out a clipboard which he began reading over.

“Your wife was taken by ambulance to Delray Medical Center, level one trauma,” he said as he looked over the paperwork, “and your son was airlifted to Miami Children’s Hospital.”

“Jenna works at Delray. I don’t know where the other one is, but I can figure it out, I guess. Thank you,” Zach said quickly as he started to walk back towards his car.

“Wait, sir, can we get some information from you? I can call the hospitals so they have accurate information then.”

“Oh, sure, of course,” Zach said whirling back around to face the officer. They stood there for about ten minutes, before Zach was free to go. He quickly walked back to his car and collapsed into the driver’s seat. He quickly called his mom, knowing that Emma would need picked up from school.

“Hello?” Jill answered quickly.

“Hey, Ma, quick question. Can you pick Emma up from school today? I don’t want to bug Frankie and it’s an emergency. Plus it might be overnight, if that’s okay.”

“What happened, Zach? You left in the middle of your show.”

“The daycare called and said Parker wasn’t dropped off. After they dropped Emma off, Jenna got into a pretty bad accident. Parker’s at Miami Children’s and Jenna’s at Delray. I’m going to call her parents and see if they’ll go to Parker and I’ll go to her since she’s closer and I don’t know what’s going on with either right now. Can you just please pick Emma up at 3:15?”

“Yes, of course, I’ll get Emma. Don’t worry, Sweetheart. You call me as soon as you know anything about Jenna and Parker, okay?”

“Thanks, Ma. Love you.”

“I love you, too. Be safe please.”

Zach smiled and ended the call. He quickly dialed his mother-in-law’s number and after ringing a few times she answered. “Hello?”

“Carole, it’s Zach.”

“Hello, darling. What did you need, honey?”

“Jenna and Parker were in a really serious car accident this morning after they dropped Emma off at school. Parker was airlifted to Miami Children’s. You’re a lot closer than me to that, can you go to him please. My mom will get Emma from school and I’m going to Delray, where they took Jenna.”

“Of course, you said he was airlifted?”

“Yes, just please be with him and tell him that I love him.”

“Of course, honey, you take care of Jenna and let us know what’s going on, okay?”

“Thank you. Tell me how Parker is as soon as you know.”

“Of course,” Carole said quickly and they both ended the call.

Zach sat in his car for a few moments, taking deep breaths before heading north towards Delray Medical Center. He arrived outside the emergency entrance about 20 minutes later and quickly parked his car and headed inside, wiping tears from his eyes as he went.


	3. Chapter 3

Zach rushed into the emergency entrance of Delray Medical Center, running a hand through his hair. He reached the welcome desk, panting for breath. “Hello,” the greeter said kindly. “Can I help you?”

“Jenna…my wife…she came in by ambulance a little while ago.”

“What’s the last name, sir?”

“Rance,” Zach panted, leaning against the counter as he finally started to catch his breath.

“He date of birth?”

“January 3, 1991,” Zach said impatiently. “She works here, she can’t be that hard to find.”

“I’ve got her pulled up here. What’s your name, sir?” the greeter asked.

“Zach. Zach Rance. Her husband. Where is she? Is she okay?” Zach continued to babble, running his hands through his hair, tugging at the ends. He wasn’t afraid to admit he was worried sick. Ever since he saw what remained of Jenna’s car, he knew she wasn’t going to be okay.

“They have her up in the O.R., Mr. Rance. I’ll have a volunteer walk you up and alert the surgical team that next of kin has arrived.”

“Next of kin, surgical team. What’s wrong? Is she going to be okay?”

“When you get upstairs one of the nurses will talk to you about everything, Mr. Rance,” she said calmly as she picked up the phone. “Escort to the greeters’ desk.” She paged overhead and a few moments later an older gentleman with a name badge and a VOLUNTEER sticker arrived.

“Where are we headed, Patricia?” the man asked as he came to a stop behind the desk.

“Mr. Rance here,” the greeter answered, indicating Zach, “is headed up to the O.R. waiting area. His wife, Jenna is in Trauma surgery up there, I’ll call up and let them know you’re on the way,” she added with a quick nod. “Thanks, Mark.”

The man, Mark, nodded and stepped around the counter. “If you’ll follow me, Mr. Rance, I’ll take you to the visitors’ elevators.” Zach silently followed Mark around a few bends in the hallway until he came to a stop outside a bank of elevators. Mark pressed the up arrow and an elevator quickly arrived. Mark stepped inside, holding the door for Zach and they went up to the third floor. Mark led Zach down a few more hallways and they ended outside a set of large double doors labeled “Neuro I.C.U.” There was a large waiting room to the right, where Mark told Zach to have a seat. “Pat said she’d call up, so a nurse should be out with you shortly, Mr. Rance.” Zach nodded at Mark and he left quickly.

Zach settled into a chair near the exit of the room and started ringing his hands in his lap. He waited maybe 15 minutes before a nurse entered the room in surgical scrubs. “Mr. Rance?” she asked, eyeing Zach who was the only one in the room. He jumped to his feet and nodded.

“Yes, is my wife okay?” The nurse took a deep breath and gestured for Zach to sit back down. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I’ve just been so scared ever since I saw her car. I mean, it wasn’t much of a car anymore by the time I got there. I can’t believe she’s even alive to tell you the truth.”

The nurse nodded once. “That’s why I’m here. The doctor wanted me to see if you knew if your wife had a living will at all?”

Zach shook his head. “What’s that?”

“Instructions on how much she’d like us to try to keep her alive. She’s so young, she probably doesn’t, but working here, we still wanted to ask.”

“Not that I know of, why? What’s happening?” Zach said, starting to wring his hands again.

“She arrived completely unconscious with a lot of head trauma,” the nurse explained. “We took her to surgery immediately. There’s a lot of damage. The doctor doesn’t think she’ll recover. He thinks the brain damage is too severe to hope for a full recovery.”

“Do everything you can. We have two little ones who need their mommy.”

The nurse nodded. “You should know, that the doctor said optimistically she’ll be on life support for the rest of her _life_. This isn’t going to end well. But we’ll make sure you have time to say your goodbyes,” she said quickly and quietly. “The surgery will be another few hours. You can wait here if you’d like or go to your son. I know they took him down to Miami Children’s.”

“Do you know how he is by chance?”

“Last I heard he was critical but stable, but that was hours ago when they were both in transit. He was more protected in the crash.” Zach breathed a sigh of relief as the nurse got back to her feet. “We’ll let you know when you can see her. The doctor will be out to talk to you at the end of surgery.”

Zach nodded once and choked out a ‘thank you’ as the nurse hurried from the room. Once the nurse was gone, Zach was again left with his own thoughts. He pulled out his phone and dialed Jenna’s dad’s phone number.

“Hello, Zach? How is she?”

Zach swallow. “Are you sitting down?”

“Zach? What’s wrong? Carole just left for Children’s a few minutes ago. Is Jenna alright?”

“Bill, are you sitting down? Just answer me. I don’t want you to fall.”

Zach could hear the background noise of his father-in-law collapsing into his favorite arm chair. “Alright, I’m sitting in the chair, what is it then?”

Zach took a deep breath and relayed everything the nurse had told him to Jenna’s father over the phone. Tears filled his eyes as he spoken, but he managed to finish before he broke down in sobs. He could hear his father-in-law draw a ragged breath on the other end of the phone and then sudden there were a lot of words before whispered hurriedly in his ear.

“I’m going to come there then you and Carole can trade places so you can be with Parker. Parker was awake and screaming bloody murder when Carole called over to the hospital right before she left. You should be with him. Carole and I can watch over Jenna until you’re sure Parker is alright, okay?”

Zach swallowed. “Sounds perfect,” he said quietly. “Thank you.”

“You’re at Delray?”

“Yes, third floor, right outside the Neuro I.C.U. in the waiting area.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can, Zach. Stay strong.”

“Thank you,” Zach mumbled again and Bill ended the phone call. Zach dropped his phone from his ear and he looked at the time. It was almost 1:30. Emma would be getting out of school, expecting to see him soon, but his mom would be there for her and Emma loved her grandma, so it would be okay. How was he going to explain any of this to a 6-year-old? How much would she understand? Zach’s phone rang maybe 15 minutes later, an incoming call from Carole’s phone. He sighed. He was probably about to recount Jenna’s tale again and hear more bad news about his son. “Hello?” Zach answered quickly.

“Zach. Parker is really banged up. Lots of broken bones, but they say he should be alright. He was screaming bloody murder so they sedated him a bit. I’m in the room with him now. Most of his body is covered in casts, but they say he’ll be alright. How’s Jenna?”

Zach swallow hard and breathed a sigh of relief before asking if she’d heard from Bill. Of course she hadn’t so he sighed and resigned himself to recounting everything the nurse had told him again and adding on that Bill was on his way to Delray and once he arrived, Zach would head to Miami to be with Parker. Of course Carole was worried, but she promised to stay with Parker until Zach arrived.

Bill arrived at the hospital a little under an hour later, and luckily it was almost in the same minute that the doctor arrived to talk to Zach after finishing Jenna’s surgery. The doctor again explained that he did not expect her to ever recover. She would be on life support until they decided to turn it off. He explained that the insurance would pay for one week and after that they would need to make a decision, but until then they’d keep Jenna alive by external means so the family could say their goodbyes.

“Our daughter,” Zach said quietly. “Emma. She’s only 6. Will I be able to bring her to see her mommy one last time at some point or is that not allowed.”

“I’ll talk the nurses. We should be able to get that okayed for a one time visit sometime this week. How’s your son doing?”

“Lots of broken bones. He’s basically in a full-body cast, but he’s going to be okay.”

The doctor smiled and nodded. “I’m sorry there wasn’t more we could do for you wife.”

Zach forced a smile and shook the doctor’s hand and he got to his feet. “If you two want to come with me, you can see her now,” he said quietly. Zach and Bill followed the doctor through the double doors to a room just down the hall. Jenna was in the bed, hooked up to various machines and with a feeding tube down her throat. The sight caused Zach to breakdown in sobs again as he held her hand up to his face. Zach dropped Jenna’s hand back to the bed and collapsed into a nearby chair as he tried to control the sobs that were wrecking his body.

Eventually the thought of his son in Miami pulled Zach from his emotions and he gathered himself enough to say goodbyes to Jenna and Bill before leaving the hospital and getting in his car to head towards Miami. A few minutes into his drive his Bluetooth announced a text message from Frankie. He pulled off at a gas station (he needed to get gas, too) and checked the message.

 

 _Frankie:_ Rose said your mom picked Emma up today, is everything okay?

 

Zach sighed. He had tried to hard not to worry Frankie that he hadn’t even thought about the girls in the process. Of course Emma would say something when Jill was there rather than Zach and of course Emma would pass that on to Rose who would of course tell Frankie when she got into the car with him. Zach sighed and typed a message back.

 

 _Zach:_ A lot going on today. Emma is having a surprised afternoon at her grandparents’ house. I’ll call you in a little while to explain. Don’t worry.

 

Zach sighed and climbed out of the car to pump his gas. After he was back on the road for another few minutes his Bluetooth rang out again, this time with an incoming call from his mother, which he answered in hands free mode. “Hey, Ma, sorry I didn’t call earlier, is everything okay with Emma?”

“Yes, but she would like to talk to her daddy.”

Zach took a deep breath and nodded to himself. “Let me talk to you first then I’ll say ‘hi’ to her, alright?” he said to his mother and she agreed.


	4. Chapter 4

“What happened?” Jill prompted.

“First of all, Parker is going to be okay. He has a lot of broken bones, so they have him sedated right now, but he’s going to be okay.”

“That’s great, honey. How’s Jenna?”

“Not good, Ma. She’s not going to make it.”

“Oh…oh no…what? I mean what happened?” Jill stuttered out.

Zach explained everything the doctors and nurses had told him over the past few hours. He could hear his mother crying on the other end of the line and then he heard his daughter’s voice in the background. “Grandma, why are you crying?”

“Nothing, here you go, Sweetie. It’s your daddy.” Zach could hear the phone changing hands and then his daughter’s voice on the other end.

“Daddy, why is grandma crying?”

“Hi, Sweetheart. Did you have a good day at school?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come and get you today. Are you having fun at grandma and grandpa’s house?”

“Yes. I miss you.”

“I miss you, too, Sweetheart. Be good for Grandma, okay?”

“Okay, daddy, but when are you coming to get me?”

“How would you like to stay with Grandma and Grandpa tonight? I bet Uncle Peyton will play some really cool games with you.”

“But I miss you and Mommy! What about Parker?” Emma insisted. She was smart for her age. She understood without actually understanding. Zach realized he was going to have to tell her something, but he didn’t know how to do it.

“Mommy and Parker got hurt really bad, so daddy has to take care of them tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, okay?”

“What happened, Daddy?”

“I’ll explain tomorrow, okay, baby girl? I have to go see Parker right now.”

“Okay. I love you, Daddy.”

“I love you, too, Emma. Can you give the phone back go grandma now, please?”

“Okay, Daddy.” Zach could head the phone changing hands again and then his mother’s voice came over.

“Hello, honey, what did you tell her?”

“That Mommy and Parker are hurt really bad. I have to figure out what to tell her tomorrow. Is it okay if she stays the night? Carole said they were probably going to keep Parker overnight since they had to sedate him. I promise I’ll call as soon as I can with updates.”

“That’s fine, Zach. Take care of Parker. He needs you more than anything.”

“Thanks, Ma. I’ll see you in the morning and talk to you soon, okay?”

“Okay, Zach. We love you.”

“Love you, too.” Zach ended the call and continued his drive towards. He arrived at the children’s hospital after about an hour of driving and quickly found Parker’s room in the Orthopedics department.

When he walked in, Carole was holding Parker in the rocking chair. Zach smiled and hurried over to them in the corner of the room. “How is he?” he asked quickly.

“The sedation is starting to wear off, but they have him on some strong painkillers that are still making him sleepy.”

“Are you ready to go?”

Carole nodded and got to her feet. She handed a mostly asleep Parker to Zach and started gathering her things from the floor. Just a few minutes after Carole left, a doctor came into the room and introduced himself to Zach. He explained that they’d be keeping Parker overnight and releasing him in the morning after they were sure Zach knew how to take care of him and after setting up a number of follow-up visits to remove his casts. After the doctor left the room, Zach was left with his thoughts and Parker wrapped up in his arms.

“Hello, little one,” Zach whispered as he pressed a kiss to Parker’s forehead. “Daddy loves you so much.” After a little while, Parker was asleep and Zach laid him down in the crib in the room. He smiled as he sat back in the rocking chair and pulled out his phone. He had a new text messaged from Frankie.

 

 _Frankie:_ Okay, I don’t teach tonight, so just give me a call whenever.

 

Zach sighed after reading the message and then hit send on Frankie’s number. Frankie answered on the third ring. “Hey, what’s going on?”

“Hey, Frankie. This morning after they dropped Emma off at school, Jenna and Parker were in a really bad accident.”

“Oh my god. Are they okay?”

Zach swallowed. “I’m at Miami Children’s with Parker right now. He has a lot of broken bones. They had him sedated for a while and still have him on a lot of pain medicine, but he’s going to be okay. They’re sending him home in the morning.”

“That’s good. How’s Jenna?”

“Not good.”

“Where’s she at?”

“Delray. She’s in the Neuro I.C.U. on life support. They don’t think she’ll recover at all. Our insurance will pay for one week of life support and then…well…if nothing happens this week…I’m so scared. How am I going to do this alone, Frankie? Parker won’t even remember her and I don’t know how to even explain it to Emma.”

“Oh my God. Zach, I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks,” Zach mumbled.

“Is there anything I can do?”

“I don’t know right now, but I’ll let you know.”

“Maybe you can drop Emma off at my house in the mornings when you go to work and I can take her to school when I take Rose.”

“That would make more sense than my mom driving down every day that’s for sure. We’ll talk about it. Thanks, Frankie.”

Zach continued his conversation with Frankie until Parker started to stir in his crib. Zach ended the call and picked Parker up into his arms as he returned to the rocking chair. Zach stayed with Parker until visiting hours ended at 9:30 before getting a hotel room near the hospital for the night.


End file.
